Obama's fallen into an Evangelical trap: 45 minutes ago, AP announced that Barack Obama would be seeking to expand Bush's Faith Based Initiative.

(AP) Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups. Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday in Zanesville, Ohio, at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services. "The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "We need all hands on deck."

We need all hands on deck alright, but with proselytizing hands, the right hand may keep secret what the left hand is doing. The faith-based initiative was risky from the start, and it was only by the grace of God (sorry) that Bush was tight-fisted to give the program the money he promised. There are plenty of non-religious, non-profit organizations doing what the government should be doing. And there are a host of people waiting to volunteer their time and efforts who don't need to say, "First tell me Jesus is your personal savior, then you can have your bowl of soup."And who will the bulk of the money go to? Only churches big enough to have a grant proposal writer, a promotion director and a glossy introduction kit. Megachurches will get bigger and small churches may go the way of the Dodo. Question: does Joel Osteen really need more money? And just where is Rod Parsley going to come up with an agency to feed the poor instead of himself? He'd have to agree to some kind of transparency - something many megachurch/televangelists are loathe to do.Something stinks in the Obama campaign.

For every post, I cruise that fantastic site, Flickr. Sometimes I get more than I bargained for. This was one of those times.

I searched for "Barack Hussein Obama" Below are some of the results. They are horrendous, yes, but they are truthful in that they show us the ugly side of America - the irrational hatred that comes of ignorance and blind belief. These people need to hate someone, something, anything. The problem is that they are also the ones who have guns. Some of them anyway. And they have the right to vote. And they have the right to be "religious" and act on what they hear coming from the pulpit.

I'm afraid for Barack Obama. I'm afraid for myself and for everyone who believes in the Greek virtues of Knowledge, Wisdom, Compassion and Love. Every morning I wake up trying to put my faith where it belongs: in humanity. Images like the ones on this post always challenge that faith. I'm tired of the sniping and the hatred, the intolerance, the racism, the homophobia, the sexism that comes with today's "Faith." Sometimes I feel like Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind's last scene when he says to Scarlett that he wants to see what little there is left of grace and dignity in the world. Then when she asks him what she will do after he's gone, the classic line, "My dear, I don't give a damn," resonates within me. I hate myself for having such feelings. There are, I know, wonderful people outside of my beautiful sanctuary of San Francisco, but with all the hatred and the posturing, they're getting harder and harder to pick out.

O.K.: Let's get this over with.

And the worst of it all: the photo is real and the commentary is real:

Hussein Obama thinks:And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

This country was founded on principles found in that big book I'm clinging to.Obama wants to ban guns, the greatest equalizer to bitter assholes who want to harm me and/or my family and property.Obama wants to spread over $800 billion in 13 years around the world with his Global Poverty Reduction act.Fuck you Obama!

Proud "typical white person" NRA member and talk radio listener.

In 2003 the US knocked a Hussein out of power. 2008 we are looking to put a Hussein back in power.